Read on Twitter
It’s expected that today @POTUS will sign several executive orders related to healthcare, including abortion.
For @PostOpinions, @Guttmacher’s @HerminiaPalacio and I wrote about why those are good, but the Biden-Harris administration must go further. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/27/biden-abortion-rights-orders-healthcare/
For @PostOpinions, @Guttmacher’s @HerminiaPalacio and I wrote about why those are good, but the Biden-Harris administration must go further. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/27/biden-abortion-rights-orders-healthcare/
Like many of you, @HerminiaPalacio and I are thrilled that science and facts matter to the Biden-Harris administration. Policy must be driven by evidence. Luckily, we have a wealth of research on abortion: https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2018/03/the-quality-of-abortion-care-depends-on-where-a-woman-lives-says-one-of-most-comprehensive-reviews-of-research-on-safety-and-quality-of-abortion-care-in-the-us
It’s time to put the evidence to work.
It’s time to put the evidence to work.
As @HerminiaPalacio and I explain in our op-ed, protecting and expanding access to abortion is critical to everyone who experiences pregnancies, but in particular BIPOC patients and people living on low incomes bear the brunt of restrictive policies. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/27/biden-abortion-rights-orders-healthcare/
Currently, 6 in 10 women of reproductive age live in a state that is hostile to abortion rights. They have to navigate the ever-denser thicket of medically unnecessary barriers and restrictions on top of structural racism impacted by immigration status, rural location, and money.
As I mentioned, it’s expected that today the Biden-Harris administration is expected to repeal the “global gag rule” and start the process of restoring the Title X national family planning network. This is important as the impact is felt by patients globally every day.
But, these steps are not nearly sufficient. Here’s what @HerminiaPalacio and I believe they should do:
— suspend in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone (aka the ‘the abortion pill’) during the pandemic
— end the Hyde Amendment
— end the Helms Amendment
I’ll explain:
— suspend in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone (aka the ‘the abortion pill’) during the pandemic
— end the Hyde Amendment
— end the Helms Amendment
I’ll explain:
The Biden-Harris administration should immediately suspend the in-person requirements for mifepristone during the pandemic so people do not have to leave their homes unnecessarily to pick up a pill for an abortion they’ll be having at home anyway.
This is how the UK is doing it.
This is how the UK is doing it.
The data are clear: the abortion pill is safe, effective, can be prescribed via telemedicine, and provided via the mail.
https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2017/10000/Safety_of_Medical_Abortion_Provided_Through.16.aspx
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010782419301763
https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2017/10000/Safety_of_Medical_Abortion_Provided_Through.16.aspx
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010782419301763
Removing the in-person requirements has become the norm in several countries, and throughout the United Kingdom, particularly during the pandemic: https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/2020-07-31-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-and-abortion-care.pdf
But due to outdated FDA restrictions, mifepristone must be dispensed in specific settings, usually a clinic.
But due to outdated FDA restrictions, mifepristone must be dispensed in specific settings, usually a clinic.
Recognizing the impact this outdated restriction was having on patients during the pandemic, a federal court suspended the requirement after physicians and advocates sued, but the Trump administration took their case to the Supreme Court and they reinstated the requirement.
If they Biden-Harris administration wants to demonstrate their commitment to pandemic relief, science, and access to abortion care, removing the in-person restrictions would be a very simple way to improve access for so many people. https://twitter.com/drdgrossman/status/1352381024764719105
@HerminiaPalacio & I would also like to see the Biden-Harris administration #BeBoldEndHyde. The Hyde Amendment is a racist, classist policy that denies people enrolled in Medicaid the ability to use their health insurance for abortion care.
It needs to end with the Biden budget.
It needs to end with the Biden budget.
As @HerminiaPalacio and I note, due to social and economic inequality linked to systemic racism and discrimination, women of color are disproportionately likely to be insured through Medicaid. In fact, half of the 7 million women potentially affected by Hyde are women of color.
This means that people who want abortions are denied or delayed in receiving care because they must figure out how to pay for their abortions out of pocket, which also means that they run up against more restrictions and fewer clinics in their communities later in pregnancy.
The Biden-Harris administration has already made historic strides to elevate the voices and issues impacting BIPOC people. Ending the Hyde Amendment must not be left off of that list.
#BeBoldEndHyde
#BeBoldEndHyde
The Biden-Harris administration is expected to announce a repeal to the ‘global gag rule’ which prevents foreign nongovernmental organizations from using their own, non-U.S. funds to support abortion related activities.
That’s important. And the Helms Amendment must go too.
That’s important. And the Helms Amendment must go too.
If you haven’t heard of the Helms Amendment, it’s a policy from 1973 that prohibits the use of U.S. foreign aid to support abortion services. This is critical because there are 35 million unsafe abortions globally each year. @POTUS should end the Helms Amendment once and for all.
@HerminiaPalacio and I would like to see @POTUS and Congress work together to end the vast disparities and dangerous outcomes created by the US imperialist insistence on supporting a global two-tiered system of legal and restricted abortion access.
The data are clear. The science is ample. The facts are simple: Abortion is safe, essential healthcare, and access is critical to reducing health and social inequities in the United States and around the world.
The Biden-Harris administration should be bold to expand access.
The Biden-Harris administration should be bold to expand access.
